3D Animator / Character Technical Artist

We are a small, fully funded independent game studio working on a fantasy strategy card game for PC. We are looking for a skilled 3D Animator / Character Technical Artist to support us with occasional, project-based assignments. This is not a full-time position. We are looking for a reliable freelancer we can contact whenever new characters, creatures, or animation-related tasks are needed. The role The assignments may vary depending on the current needs of the project and can include animation, rigging-related work, mesh cleanup, and preparing characters for implementation in the game. Example tasks Creating high-quality hand-keyed animations for humanoid characters and animals Combat, movement, idle, spawn, reaction, and character-specific animations Preparing and importing animations into Unreal Engine 5 Working with animation retargeting and existing skeletons Fixing skinning, rigging, weight painting, and deformation issues Cleaning up and improving the topology of AI-generated 3D meshes Preparing meshes for rigging and animation Troubleshooting character and animation problems inside UE5 Optimizing characters and animations for real-time use What we are looking for Strong experience with hand-keyed 3D character animation Ability to animate both humanoids and animals Practical knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 animation workflows Good understanding of anatomy, weight, timing, posing, and movement Experience with topology cleanup and preparing imperfect meshes for production Understanding of rigging, skinning, skeletons, and animation retargeting Ability to work independently and solve technical problems Clear communication and reliability To apply Please send an email with your application and include: Your portfolio or showreel Examples of humanoid and animal animations Information about your experience with Unreal Engine 5 Your daily rate for an 8-hour freelance assignment Your general availability The software you normally work with Please also mention whether you are comfortable working with existing, sometimes imperfect or AI-generated meshes and preparing them for production.